Raleigh, N.C. — The Cannon Foundation awarded the USO of North Carolina a $95,000 grant to upgrade its existing center at the Raleigh-Durham airport and to establish a new center at the Fayetteville airport.

Nearly 8,700 troops pass through RDU and Charlotte-Douglas International Airport each month, said John Falkenbury, president and chief operating officer for the USO of North Carolina.

"With the huge increase in traffic from Fort Bragg’s expansion to include Forces Command and the Army Reserve Command, we needed help in establishing a presence at the Fayetteville airport," Falkenbury said in a statement.

The Cannon Foundation was established in 1943 by the late textile magnate Charles A. Cannon. It now supports fields such as health care, education, human and social service programs and organizations, and it previously gave money to the USO center at Charlotte-Douglas airport.

jse830fcnawa030klgmvnnaw+Dec 23, 2010

It's great that the USO supports our troops, but I no longer donate to the organization. They sent me so much junk postal mail over the span of two years that I felt they were wasting my donations on mailings. I have asked them multiple times to stop, and I even called their HQ. No change until I terminated my donations.

I now donate to other organizations who support our troops: American Red Cross and the Patriot Guard Riders.

(American Red Cross) Service to the Armed Forces, Keeping Pace with the Changing Military -